The Narratorhttps://pphsnews.org
The Student News Site of Purdue Polytechnic High School
Mon, 26 Feb 2018 20:03:25 +0000 en-US
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1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1The Lorax: The Movies’ entertaining, but disappointinghttps://pphsnews.org/677/reviews/the-lorax-the-movie-entertaining-but-disappointing/
https://pphsnews.org/677/reviews/the-lorax-the-movie-entertaining-but-disappointing/#respondMon, 26 Feb 2018 19:59:30 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=677The Dr. Seuss children’s books have been adapted by Hollywood before – How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) and Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat(2003) were live-action versions with frantically zany and conceited lead performances from Jim Carrey and Mike Myers respectively; both films were pretty well unwatchable. A mention perhaps should go to the drama I Am Sam (2001) with Sean Penn giving a highly mannered performance as Sam, a grown man with learning difficulties who likes Dr. Seuss’s book Green Eggs and Ham. In that desperately well-meaning film, Penn was having a bit of a “Jerry Lewis” moment.

In its insidious way, The Lorax is more infuriating, more exasperating and more objectionable than any of these. It is a fantastically boring, soulless animation that could have been written by a computer program, an animation bot. The basic finger-wagging eco-tale is expanded into a cutesy, over-extended movie about a boy who visits a creepy old fellow called The Once-ler who destroyed all the trees thereabouts: the name perhaps alludes to rapacious logging industries which use up resources once and forever, with no sustainability. There’s another little guy called the Lorax, who is on the side of trees and nature but can apparently do.

The Lorax never does anything much but raise his great cute bewhiskered face and look accusingly. Perhaps new generations of young cinemagoers will be encouraged to think that this kind of doe-eyed concern will be enough to protect nature. And in any case, this plasticky, production-line multiplex product does not make a compelling argument because it looks so very unnatural.

]]>https://pphsnews.org/677/reviews/the-lorax-the-movie-entertaining-but-disappointing/feed/0Cycle 3https://pphsnews.org/668/challenges/cycle-3/
https://pphsnews.org/668/challenges/cycle-3/#respondMon, 12 Feb 2018 00:23:52 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=668Our Cycle 3 challenge was to plan a student vs. staff dek hockey game event. In this cycle, each PLC competed as one group against other PLC groups. The winning PLC was Coach Lee’s, pitched by Sarah Winters, Maddi Muelen, Adrian Martinez, and Zaria Jenkins. The event will be taking place at CommonWealth GYM (23 N Rural St) on February 15 from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. The winning PLC’s theme was “Glow in the Dark.” There will be concessions, a photo booth and much more, so bring your cash. Pre-ordered tickets are $3, or $5 at the door. Come to Commonwealth for a fun night with your family!
]]>https://pphsnews.org/668/challenges/cycle-3/feed/0Harry Potter and The Sorcerer’s Stone Film And Book Differenceshttps://pphsnews.org/661/reviews/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone-film-and-book-differences/
https://pphsnews.org/661/reviews/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone-film-and-book-differences/#respondThu, 18 Jan 2018 17:22:00 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=661The Boy Who Lived Of The Chapter And Scene

The film begins with Harry’s arrival at Privet Drive. As a result, everything that precedes this point in the book is omitted in the film, which includes:

Vernon Dursley’s day at Grunnings and his encounter with the wizards during his lunch break on the day before Harry arrived.

Vernon Dursley noticing Minerva McGonagall in her Animagus form earlier in the day, thinking she was reading a map.

The existence of Ted and Jim McGuffin.

At the start of the novel, Minerva McGonagall in her Animagus form had been observing Vernon Dursley prior to her meeting with Dumbledore and Hagrid. While this scene was omitted from the film, it was referenced when McGonagall voiced her objections to leaving Harry in the Dursley’s care when she said she had “watched them all day”.

In the film, when Albus Dumbledore leaves Harry Potter on the doorstep of the Dursleys’ house, he says, “Good luck, Harry Potter.” In the book, he just says, “Good luck, Harry.” This is likely because of the aforementioned omissions.

The Letters From No One Chapter and Scene

Dudley appears to know about Hogwarts, as he stares worriedly at Harry like his parents do. In the books, Dudley does not know about magic when Harry gets his letter.

The scene when Harry gets Dudley’s second bedroom is omitted. He does get the room in the second film, with the latter film implying that the Dursleys supplied Harry with the room after the First Year.

The scene where Harry and the Dursleys go to a random hotel to get away from the letters was omitted from the movie, so instead, they went straight to the hut. Because of this, Dudley’s line of “Daddy’s gone mad, hasn’t he?!” was moved to immediately after Uncle Vernon declares that they are going to move far enough away to ensure that the owls can’t find them. In the book, Dudley says this line only after Vernon pauses driving long enough to do a glance around to see if any owls are following them on a bridge.

The scene with Harry and the Dursleys using the rowboat of the toothless old man to get to the hut is omitted; Therefore, the old man is also omitted from the film, but he appears in concept artwork only.

The Keeper Of The Keys Chapter And Scene

In the book, when Hagrid first met Harry on the island he knew who he was right away, while in the film Hagrid initially mistook Dudley for Harry until Dudley corrected him.

In the book, Vernon Dursley warns Dudley not to receive or eat anything that Hagrid gives him when he was making sausages for Harry. In the film, Vernon doesn’t mention this to Dudley, as Dudley is later seen eating some of Harry’s birthday cake, which Hagrid makes him stop by giving him the pig’s tail.

Diagon Alley Chapter And Scene.

In the book, Quirrell does not have his turban until after his failed attempt to steal the Philosopher’s Stone from Gringotts. In the film, however, Quirrell has his turban before the robbery. This change is indicated by the fact that he shakes Harry’s hand at the Leaky Cauldron in the novel, but does not wish to in the film. However, not wanting to shake Harry’s hand cannot be due to Voldemort sharing Quirrell’s body because as Quirrell dies, he does not understand what is happening to him (he yells, “What is this magic?!”).

In the book, Harry names Hedwig from a History of Magic book. In the film, it is not mentioned where the name was chosen from. Hedwig’s name isn’t even mentioned in the film.

The Platform 9 and 3 Quarters Chapter and Scene

In the book, Harry first learns about the connection between Dumbledore and Flamel on the back of his chocolate frogs card. In the movie, it is Hermione who comes across the name in a book she picked up for ‘light reading’. In a deleted scene however you see Harry finding the name on a chocolate frog card after which the trio runs off to the library, so it only appears as a “mistake”.

In the book, Neville comes into the compartment where Harry and Ron are sitting asking if they have seen his toad, which was omitted. Later Hermione shows up again with Neville asking the same question. In the film, Hermione shows up by herself asking if anyone has seen a toad, and that a boy named Neville has lost one.

The Sorting Hat Chapter and Scene

In the book, before the sorting begins, the Sorting Hat sings a song, but this does not happen in the film.

In the novel, after the sorting, Dumbledore stands to say a few words and comically utters a few random words at which point supper begins. This is omitted in the film, with Dumbledore giving the start of term notices instead.

Harry learns that only Slytherins go bad from Hagrid in Diagon Alley. In the film, he learns it from Ron during the Sorting ceremony.

Hedwig’s name is never mentioned, except in a deleted scene. The same goes for Mrs. Norris. Both names are mentioned in later films.

]]>https://pphsnews.org/661/reviews/harry-potter-and-the-sorcerers-stone-film-and-book-differences/feed/0Cycle 2https://pphsnews.org/657/challenges/cycle-2/
https://pphsnews.org/657/challenges/cycle-2/#respondThu, 11 Jan 2018 15:53:24 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=657Our Cycle 2 challenge was to find a way for Indiana to contribute to feeding 9 billion people by 2050 without overwhelming the planet. The winner of this cycle was Liam Greene and Adrian Martinez representing Coach Lee. Their solution was an app that tells you when your food was about to expire and the app also had recipes for the food products that are about to expire, the solution was called “ExpiraCatch”. The other top competitor’s products were “Food’s Journey” “Waste Wars”, “What’s cooking next door?”, and “Family Food”. Food’s Journey is a board game that takes the players on a journey of a food and the main idea of this board game is to help citizens appreciate their food more and waste less. This solution was created by Soneya Tamang and Sarah Winters representing Coach Lee. Waste wars is a kit that they would provide schools with to reduce food waste at their school. This solution was created by Audrey Williamson, Trevor Deckard, and De’Anthony Carter representing Coach Mundall. “What’s Cooking Next Door?’ is an app that lets people see if their neighbor has something you would need but they don’t. People would also be able to give things they don’t need or want to people that needs or wants them. This solution was created by Ridouane Moctar, Makayla Montes, and Salma Montero representing Coach Puffer. Family Food is an interactive, educational, and entertaining board game for all members of the family. It helps the end users understand the economic impact that Indiana’s agricultural industry has on the overall state’s economy. This solution was created by Francisco Ruiz and Cheyenne Strauch representing Coach Puffer.

Here is an interview with the Adrien Martinez, on of our winners of Cycle 2:

What was your project? We created an app that tracks expiration dates on foods, the app also gives you recipe ideas for the foods that are about to expire.

How does it feel winning? I didn’t expect to win, but I would say that it feels great.

What were some of your thoughts on having to present at Purdue? I liked knowing that the people in the room were actually interested what the idea that we have to share.

]]>https://pphsnews.org/657/challenges/cycle-2/feed/0Cycle 1https://pphsnews.org/643/challenges/cycle-1/
https://pphsnews.org/643/challenges/cycle-1/#respondThu, 11 Jan 2018 15:19:45 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=643The Cycle 1’s challenge was to help the Indianapolis Zoo to increase conservation efforts locally. The winners of Cycle 1 were Audrey Williamson, Xavier Howard, Christian Tettey, and Karissa Nielsen-Baker representing Coach Mundall. Their solution was to put stuffed animals in happy meals, called “Palm Palz”. The stuffed animals would be shaped of the animals that palm oil processing is affecting. Second place went to Jacy Thomas, Clark Miller, and Jairo Cruz, representing Coach Vincent. Their solution was is a parabolic dish that generates electricity for household through the process of concentrated solar power, and it’d called “Reflectio”. Third place went to Soneya Tamang, Eros Fernandez, Maddi Meulen, and Adrian Martinez, representing Coach Lee. Their solution was a photo booth that had animal props and it was to raise money for Endangered African Elephants.
]]>https://pphsnews.org/643/challenges/cycle-1/feed/0New Nurse!https://pphsnews.org/641/staff/new-nurse/
https://pphsnews.org/641/staff/new-nurse/#respondThu, 11 Jan 2018 15:12:15 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=641In cycle 2, PPHS hired a new nurse. Her name is Nurse Mills. When we asked why she took the job as PPHS nurse, she said she feels like she can “relate to teens well.” She originally wanted to be a veterinarian but felt people’s needs are more important than animals. So far, she has really enjoyed working here. Previously, she worked at a psychiatric hospital for young women ages 15-20. Nurse Mills worked with 34 ladies that came from a variety of tragic backgrounds. She was ready for a new chapter in her life, so when offered the job here, she took it. We are looking forward to the rest of our year with Nurse Mills!
]]>https://pphsnews.org/641/staff/new-nurse/feed/0Veggie Clubhttps://pphsnews.org/622/staff/veggie-club/
https://pphsnews.org/622/staff/veggie-club/#respondThu, 04 Jan 2018 15:16:23 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=622Four of our very own coaches have recently started their own club; The Veggie Club. Since the beginning of Cycle 2, Coach Johnson, Lee, Megha, and Puffer have cut the meat out of their diets and are sticking to veggies. “It started very organically with Coach Johnson and Coach Lee wanting to start trying the vegetarian/vegan diet,” says Coach Puffer. Coach Megha and Coach Puffer were already vegetarian. Every week they try out new dishes brought in by one of the participants.

“It has been really fun cooking for each other and getting to have really great food each day for lunch!” – Coach Megha

“It started very organically with Coach Johnson and Coach Lee wanting to start trying the vegetarian/vegan diet. It has been fun cooking for each other and getting to have great food each day for lunch!” – Coach Puffer

Volunteer Club took a field trip to Second Helpings, a food rescue facility within Indianapolis, then immediately following, they kicked off a food drive here at PPHS.

The food drive lasted for 2 weeks and during that time frame, the competition was heated. By the end of the first week, Coach Puffer’s PLC was in the lead, but that quickly came to an end when Coach Lee’s PLC made a sneak attack during the few remaining days of the competition, leaving everyone in shock. At the end of the second week, Coach Lee’s PLC won by a landslide, having a total class donation of 376, ultimately crushing their former competition. With a lot of effort and hopefulness, our school was able to donate a grand total of 463 goods.

Congratulations to everyone who participated in the drive, especially Coach Lee and her PLC.

]]>https://pphsnews.org/626/brilliant-boilermakers/second-helpings-food-drive/feed/0Rookie Camphttps://pphsnews.org/620/challenges/rookie-camp/
https://pphsnews.org/620/challenges/rookie-camp/#respondMon, 04 Dec 2017 20:44:53 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=620Rookie Camp– Create a product, process, or a procedure to help students be successful at PPHS this year.

]]>https://pphsnews.org/620/challenges/rookie-camp/feed/0Roboticshttps://pphsnews.org/609/clubs/robotics/
https://pphsnews.org/609/clubs/robotics/#respondMon, 20 Nov 2017 16:09:24 +0000http://pphsnews.org/?p=609Robotics is where they create robots with Vex parts and then they go to the competition with other high schools around Indiana. There are 3 teams for PPHS and they are 4321A- 4321B-, and 4321C-. Hopefully, if the teams are ranked in the top scores of Indiana, they will go to the state championships. The Robotics team will have their first competition on Saturday, November 18th atK.I.D.S. Inc.

We interviewed Coach Mundell, the creator of the Robotics team

Why did you want to create the robotics team here at PPHS?

“First of all, I think that competitive robotics is one of the most fun and exciting things that you could do in high school, and I wanted our students to have that opportunity. Secondly, robotics is an excellent way for students to develop a number of important skills. Students who are involved in robotics will learn valuable STEM skills in addition to important life skills. Our students are learning about gear ratios, torque, measurement, prototyping, testing, teamwork, time-management, marketing, how to respond to failure, and more. Finally, I wanted to create the PPHS Robotics team because it’s something I really enjoy doing, and I love sharing that with my students.

2. Have you had any experience in robotics before?

“My first robotics experience ever was when my uncle got me a LEGO Mindstorm Robotics kit for Christmas when I was in eighth grade. I remember programming the robot to follow a black line on the ground. In college one of my freshman year Honors Engineering classes also used the LEGO robotics system to teach basic programming and engineering skills. As far as competitive high school robotics go, this is my sixth season. I have mentored teams that have won city championships, qualified for state, and even attended the World Championships two year ago.

3. Do you think more people should be interested in robotics?

“Definitely! There is a lot of talk and concern about what future job markets will look like. One thing that is certain is that automation and AI (artificial intelligence) will lead to more and more jobs being done by computers and robots instead of people. Developing the skills to build and program those robots is a great way to ensure you have the skills to survive in a changing job market. Plus, robots are super-cool!”